The American Supply Association’s Board of Directors announced that Inge Calderon has elected to step down as executive vice president of ASA and will accept a new role as executive director of the ASA Education Foundation.

“Inge has been an exceptional leader for ASA since taking her position in 1995 and has successfully led the association through some of its more challenging times,” Joel Becker of Waterbury, CT-based Torrington Supply Co., current ASA president, said in a statement. “Her tenure has included the implementation of the ‘White Paper’ organizational recommendations, navigating the challenge of trade show consolidation and partnerships, and building the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund past its original $10 million goal.”

Joe Poehling of Madison, WI-based First Supply, president of the ASA Education Foundation Board of Trustees, said in a statement, “Inge’s successful history in identifying member needs and guiding ASA through uncharted territory makes her uniquely qualified to lead the Education Foundation as it grows and prospers.”

Paul F. Martin will continue as the executive vice president of the Education Foundation under Calderon’s direction.

“I’m very excited about the new role that I’ll be taking on,” Calderon said in a statement. “Together, Paul and I will work with the Foundation staff to quickly expand our menu of training materials, get many more of our members actively involved and promote the value that training and education bring to every company.”

With the growing needs of ASA members in recruiting and retaining a talented workforce, the Education Foundation’s job today is more important than ever, Calderon told Supply House Times. “Thanks to the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund, we’re now poised to speed up the pace of new program development, and get them into more widespread use. I’ve learned a lot about our industry in the last 22 years, and I’m excited to put that experience to good use in my new role,” she said.

The ASA Executive Committee has appointed a Search Committee to recruit and hire a new executive vice president and has retained Tryon-Heideman, a professional recruiting firm, to help identify candidates. ASA estimates the search will be completed by the end of the summer, with a new executive vice president in place before ASA’s annual convention in late October.